New IMW chairman: ‘We’re not elitist’

The new Austrian chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine is determined to make the organisation ‘more relevant to the wine trade.’

For the first time in its 55-year history, the IMW has elected a non-UK Chairman. Dr Josef ‘Pepi’ Schuller MW has taken over the two-year position from Joanna Locke.

Schuller´s election underscores the Institute´s increasing efforts to expand its influence internationally – and defuse accusations of being out of touch.

‘An institute in London that claims it wants to be a wine leader is not enough,’ Schuller told decanter.com. ‘We are proud of our British roots but there are more and more international students being accepted into the programme all the time. We now have members from 23 different countries.’